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An 

Introduction to the 
Study of the Mind 



By Walter Scott Athearx 




Class. 



Book. 



GjyrightK?- 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/introductiontostOOathe 



An 

Introduction to the 
Study of the Mind 



By Walter Scott Athearn 

Director School of Religious Education and 
Social Service, Boston University 



Being Section Three of 
Teaching the Teacher" 



The Westminster Press 
philadelphia 

1921 






Copyright, 1921 
By F. M. Braselman 



©CLA654237 

JAN i I rf£2 



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* 1 



Contents 



I. What Is the Mind? 147 

II. The Machine and the Machinist 150 

III. The Triune Man 154 

IV. The Intellect 157 

V. The Emotions . 150 

VI. The Will 163 

VII. Habit Formation iqq 

VIII. How to Study 170 

IX. The Growing Mind 173 

X. Workers with Immortal Souls 176 



LESSON I 
What Is the Mind? 

The Question Answered. "What is mind?" inquired a student 
of a great teacher. "No matter/' came the answer promptly. "But," 
continued the student, "what is matter?" Whereupon the famous 
teacher answered simply, "Never mind." An inspired writer recorded 
the dual nature of man in these words: "And Jehovah God formed 
man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the 
breath of life; and man became a living soul." What is this "living 
soul" which is not "dust of the ground"? It is that something which 
thinks and feels and wills. Mind, like electricity, is defined by 
describing its behavior. How does mind behave? It thinks and feels 
and wills. 

All that we know about the mind is called psychology; all that wg 
know about plants is called botany; all that we know about animal 
life is called zoology; all that we know about the starry heavens is 
called astronomy. Psychology is the science of mind and its behavior. 
Mind is that which thinks and feels and wills. 

The Attributes of the Mind. Can we say anything about mind 
except that it thinks and feels and wills? It has already been pointed 
out that mind is immaterial; it is not matter. Matter obeys the 
law of gravitation; it has weight. Matter obeys the law of inertia; 
its direction is determined by objects or forces outside of itself; it can- 
not start until something starts it, and it cannot stop until something 
stops it. But mind does not obey the law of gravitation; it has no 
weight and it does not fall toward the center of the earth when a 
physical support is removed. Neither does mind obey the law of 
inertia; it is not stopped and started by physical forces or objects out- 
side of itself. Mind does not obey the laws of matter; mind is im- 
material. The mind has four other attributes which succeeding para- 
graphs will describe. Besides being immaterial, the mind is unitary, 
self-active, self-conscious, and abiding. 

The Mind Is Unitary. The mind that thinks is the mind that 
feels; the mind that thinks and feels is the mind that wills. These 
three activities are kinds of behavior of one mind. We do not have 

147 



148 TEACHING THE TEACHER 

three minds; we have but one mind which does three different things. 
The mind is unitary. When the mind is thinking, it cannot be devot- 
ing its entire energy to feeling or willing. We have only one hundred 
per cent of mental energy. If eighty per cent is engaged in thinking, 
there will be only twenty per cent which can be used for feeling and 
willing. If ninety per cent is engaged in feeling only ten per cent will 
remain for thinking and willing. Students cannot study well when 
they are in a state of emotional tension. There is little use to reason 
with a stubborn child while the will is dominating the mental life. 
Parents and teachers should remember that every mental state has a 
direct bearing on other mental states. There is but one mind — it can 
think and feel and will, but it has but one hundred per cent of mental 
energy to distribute among these activities at any one time. 

The Mind Is Self- Active. A stone thrown into the air will con- 
tinue to move until it is drawn back to earth by the force of gravita- 
tion. It has no power to start or stop itself or to change its own direc- 
tion. But the mind is self-active. It can change its own behavior; 
it can initiate or discontinue various directions of activity. 

The Mind Is Self-Conscious. An old German philosopher gave 
a great dinner to celebrate the first occasion on which his baby boy 
said "I." "That act," said the philosopher, "proves that my boy 
is a human being." The human mind says "I." It is conscious of 
its own behavior. It not only thinks and feels and wills, but it says, 
"I think," "I feel," "I will." The steam engine moves, but it does 
not know that it moves. The mind is conscious of its own behavior. 

The Mind Is Abiding. When a lighted match touches a piece of 
paper, the paper burns. Its chemical structure is changed. The 
paper ceases to exist as paper. It has been changed into smoke and 
ashes. There is as much matter in the world as there was before the 
paper was burned, but there is less paper. Matter is indestructible, 
but paper is not. Matter, modified, loses its identity. But the mind 
passes through all the myriad changes of human experience from the 
cradle to the grave without losing its identity. Matter, modified, 
loses its identity; mind, modified, retains its identity. Mind is 
immortal. 

I Am Always I, and You Are Always You. One summer day, 
more than forty years ago, when the writer was a very small boy, 
he wandered out into the spacious yard which surrounded his boy- 
hood home. He soon discovered a rain barrel beneath the eaves of the 



STUDY OF THE MIND 149 

house. Childish curiosity prompted nim to push a broken chair beside 
the barrel and then to climb upon the chair so that he could look into 
the barrel. The barrel was nearly full of water. The sun was shining 
in such manner as to produce a perfect image of the boy in the water. 

I put my hand down to the image, and the image put its hand up 
to me. Soon I was completely absorbed in delightful play with the 
image in the barrel. While I was thus engaged, my big brother slipped 
up behind me, lifted my feet from the chair, and pushed me head- 
first into the barrel of water. I gave one loud, terrified scream before 
my head went under the water and then down, down, down I went. 
It seemed to me that I should never touch the bottom. I can remember, 
vividly, what I thought as I descended into that rain barrel. My 
first thought was, "I wonder if I can swallow it all?" My next thought 
was, "Shall I never reach the bottom?" Just then my mother, who 
had heard my scream, caught me by the heels and pulled me, dripping, 
from the barrel. How well I remember the feeling of anger which filled 
my mind as I discovered my brother hiding behind the rain barrel 
and realized that it was he who had caused my unexpected descent 
into the barrel! And I remember also the thrill of joy that filled my 
soul when my mother spanked my brother for "ducking" me. 

Over forty years have passed since my rain-barrel experience, yet the 
same "I" who was "ducked" in that rain barrel is penning these lines 
in which all the feelings and volitions and thoughts of the event are 
vividly recalled. I have passed through joys and sorrows, I have 
traveled many, many miles, my mind has had the discipline of years 
in schools and colleges, and yet I am the same "I" of my childhood 
days. I have been modified by the experience of a busy life, but I 
have retained my identity. 

But while the same "I" that was "ducked" in the rain barrel so 
long ago is here to-day, not an atom of the body of the boy who was 
"ducked" in the rain barrel is here now. I have lived in several different 
bodies since that childhood experience. The shifting chemical atoms 
of my body have come and gone, but I have remained "I" through 
all the years. I am a modified "I," but still the same "I." I was 
"I" in a body of fifty pounds; I was "I" in a body of one hundred 
pounds; now as a grown man I am still "I" in a body of one hundred 
and sixty pounds. Cut off my arms, and I am "I"; cut off my legs, 
and I am still "I." Mutilate my body as you may and I shall still 
be "I." And when my body shall crumble into dust I shall still be 



150 TEACHING THE TEACHER 

the abiding, "immortal I" which even death cannot destroy. What 
a sublime thought it is that I am always I, and you are always you! 
Matter modified loses its identity, but mind modified retains its identity. 

Summary 

Mind is that which thinks and feels and wills. Mind has five attri- 
butes. It is immaterial. It is unitary. It is self-active. It is self- 
conscious. It is abiding or immortal. The science which deals with 
the mind and its behavior is called psychology. 

Questions for Review 

1. Define mind. 

2. Define psychology. 

3. Name five attributes of mind and describe each. 

4. Give an example from your own experience which illustrates the 

unity of mind. 

5. If mind is self-active, can the teacher determine just how the pupil 

will interpret the facts presented in the curriculum? Is the 
child's mind simply a vessel to be filled? 

6. Discuss the influence of early impressions on the abiding mind. 

LESSON II 
The Machine and the Machinist 

The Dust of the Earth. If a chemist should analyze the human 
body he would find in it sixteen chemical elements. His analysis would 
reveal carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, sulphur, and a dozen other chemicals. 
In the body of the average-sized man the chemist would find enough 
iron to make a spike big enough to hang a man upon; he would find 
enough lead to make seven hundred and eighty dozen lead pencils; 
enough phosphorus to make the heads for twenty-two hundred dozen 
matches, enough illuminating gas to inflate a balloon which would 
carry a man into the air. He would find two pounds of lime, twenty 
spoonfuls of salt, and sixty lumps of sugar, besides hydrochloric acid 
and other chemicals in smaller quantities. 

If the same chemist should analyze a quantity of the "dust of the 
ground' ' he would find about seventy different chemical elements. 
If he should write in two parallel columns the seventy chemical ele- 



STUDY OF THE MIND 151 

ments found in the "dust of the ground" and the sixteen chemical 
elements found in man he would find that all of the chemical elements 
in man's body are found among the seventy elements in the "dust of 
the ground. " The simple facts compel us to say that some great 
chemist took from the seventy elements in the "dust of the ground" 
sixteen elements and fashioned them into man's body. 

If the same chemist should analyze one thousand hen's eggs he 
would find almost exactly the same distribution of chemical elements 
as in man's body. Is a man nothing but one thousand hen's eggs? 
Is he nothing but nails and lead and salt and sugar and illuminating 
gas? 

A Living Soul. But there is something about a man which eludes 
the chemist. The delicately attuned apparatus which detects and 
photographs chemical substances in planets millions of miles away, 
or which penetrates flesh and bone and reveals the structure of hidden 
tissue, cannot record the growth of ideals in the mind of a child or the 
emotions and volitions which stir the hearts of men. No, the chemical 
laboratory cannot reveal the mind of man. Another kind of laboratory 
has been established for this purpose. It is the psychological labora- 
tory. The presence of the psychological laboratory is conclusive 
evidence that man is more than "dust of the ground." By some wonder- 
ful process man became "a living soul." I am "a living soul," but I 
have a body which is "dust of the ground." 

The Human Machine. Considered as a machine, man's body is a 
marvelous combination of chemical, physical, and biological properties. 
It is, indeed, a wonderful "temple of clay" for the soul of man. To 
understand his body, man must study deeply into the science of chemis- 
try, into physiology and anatomy; he must know the laws of growth 
and the facts of heredity. This knowledge is necessary if man is to 
keep his body a fit dwelling place for his spirit. 

The Nervous System. The nervous system is the seat of the mental 
life. The human soul may be said to dwell in the midst of the nervous 
system, not as a captive awaiting a day of liberation, but as a master 
using the wonderful apparatus for his own ends. The brain and spinal 
cord with a multitude of sensory and motor nerves constitute what is 
known as the central nervous system. The brain is the central 
office from which all mental life emanates. This central office is con- 
nected with the outside world by thousands of nerves, telegraphic 
wires, which carry into the central office messages of every kind. Be- 



152 TEACHING THE TEACHER 

sides these sensory nerves which keep the mind informed regarding 
the outside world, the mind has the service of another group of nerves, 
called the motor nerves, which carry messages from the brain to all 
parts of the body. 

In the midst of the nervous system sits the mind, the immortal 
"I," like a telegraph operator interpreting the dots and dashes that 
constantly pour in over many wires from the ends of the earth, and, 
with fingers on the key, sending answering messages which change the 
course of human history. As I write these words I am on an island 
in the midst of the sea. Save for my wife there is not another human 
being for miles in any direction. My auditory nerves carry to my mind 
the surge of the waves against the rock-bound coast; my olfactory 
nerves bring the odor of the pines on the cliff above me; my optical 
nerves bring me the gorgeous hues of yellow, orange, and red of a 
beautiful August sunset. But suppose there should suddenly cross 
the horizon the outline of a dozen canoes rapidly propelled by painted 
savages. As they grow nearer weapons are revealed by their sides. 
They approach our island; they grasp their weapons and prepare to 
land. Suppose that this has been revealed to me by my sensory nerves. 
Must I sit here motionless and let these savages kill my wife and my- 
self? No, the "immortal I" has the use of another set of nerves. A 
message goes out to my motor nerves. Arms and legs and tongue 
are in action. We seek safety. 

The Machinist. Man does not need to be damned by his environ- 
ment. He has the power to change his environment. He learns from 
his sensory nerves what his environment is; if this environment does 
not suit him, he has the power to move to another environment or to 
change his present environment. The mind of man, the self, the 
"immortal I," has power to have dominion over the earth. 

Suppose, for example, that a young man finds himself a member 
of a group or "gang" of young men who swear, smoke, and chew tobacco, 
desecrate the Sabbath Day, idle away their time, and whose ideals 
are low and unworthy. Must the young man remain a member of 
this group and conform to its standards? No, this young man can 
say to his legs: "Legs, get me out of this gang. Take me over to the 
Christian Endeavor Society. Take me to the Bible class. Take me 
to the Y. M. C. A. Get me away from this environment." It is the 
mind of the young man, not his muscles or his nervous system, which 
issues the command to move into a new environment or to change the 



STUDY OF THE MIND 153 

old associations. Man, the machinist, is the architect of his own fate, 
the determiner of his own destiny. 

The Chart and Compass. How shall the mind of man, the "im- 
mortal I," know how to guide him amidst the conflicting interests 
and ideals of this life? Has he no chart or compass? In his inner soul, 
if man will but listen, he can hear the voice of conscience, the captain 
of his fate, guiding him into paths of safety. At his hand he finds a 
guidebook, the Holy Bible, telling him that he is made in the image 
of the Father and commissioning him to "subdue" the earth. In this 
Book he learns the story of his Elder Brother, who is his perfect Pat- 
tern, his infallible Guide, and Saviour. In a world of sin and suffering 
he hears the command to go forth and make all things new. "Go 
ye into all the world!" What a divine calling for the "immortal I"! 

Summary 

Man is a living soul; he has a body which is dust of the earth. The 
body is man's servant. Through it he learns the facts about the physi- 
cal universe, and with it he adjusts himself to the world in which he 
lives or makes the world over to conform to his ideals. Man is not 
the slave of his environment. He may conquer environment. He will 
study chemistry, physiology, anatomy, and biology that he may know 
the laws which govern his body, but he will study the Bible, and espe- 
cially the life of Christ, that he may know the laws which govern the 
life of his immortal spirit. 

Questions for Review and Discussion 

1. What evidence is there that man is dust of the earth? 

2. What fact does the erection of psychological laboratories 

establish? 

3. Give a brief discussion of the function of the central nervous 

system. 

4. Give illustrations from your own experience of how men and women 

have overcome unfortunate environment. 

5. What function has the Church in determining the environment of 

people? 

6. What is the standard for human conduct? 

7. Who is responsible for teaching this standard to the "immortal 

IV who are to have dominion over the earth? 



154 



TEACHING THE TEACHER 



LESSON III 
The Triune Man 

Man, a Triune Being. Man thinks and feels and wills. In his 
mental life the "immortal I," of which we have been thinking, is a 
triune being. The following diagram will show man's threefold mental 
life: 



Life 



( Brain 
Intellect J ^ al 
[Cord 

fSympa- 
„ . I thetic 
EmotlOD Nervous 

[System 

I Instincts 
< and 
Impulses 



(Philosophy \ f World 
I Mathematics M « 
j Science • • 

[Languages 



J Knowledge 



f Creed 
\ Belief 
Dogma 



T Music 
J Litera- 
Iture 
[Art 



World ] (Ritual 

of U Worship 

Appreciation I Ceremony 






Will 



{History 
Sociology 
Economics 
Biography 



{World 
of 
Conduct 



Holy 
Deeds 

New 
Life 



Knowledge 



Love 



Obedience 



More 
>Abun- 
dant Life 



Control Through Intellect. One of man's chief sources of con- 
trolling, modifying, and regulating his conduct is his intellect. Intel- 
lect operates through the brain and spinal cord. Through this physi- 
cal means of approach man develops his intellect by the study of 
such disciplines as philosophy, mathematics, sciences, and foreign 
languages. Through the intellect man comes to live in a world of 
knowledge. His mind is stored with facts and ideas. When man 
takes his intellect into the field of religion it gives him knowledge 
about God. This is the source of religious creeds, beliefs, dogma. 

Control Through Emotions. A second method of control is 
through the emotions. The emotions, besides calling upon the brain 
and spinal cord, depend upon the sympathetic nervous system. The 
emotions are developed by such studies as music, art, and literature. 
This gives one a world of appreciation. Besides knowing things 
with the intellect, man attaches to the things he knows certain values 
which his intellect cannot know. When one takes his emotions into 
religion it gives rise to worship, to ritual, and to ceremonies. The 
emotions provide affection and love in religion. 

Control Through Will. A third method of control is through 
the will. The will calls into play the deep-seated instincts and im- 
pulses in one's biological nature. We discipline the will in the schools 
through the s + udy of history, sociology, economics, and biography. 



STUDY OF THE MIND 155 

This gives us a world of conduct. In the realm of religion the will 
gives us the religious deed, visiting the sick, giving a cup of water 
"in his name." 

4 'Lopsided' ' People. When one uses but one of his three faculties 
for control it leaves him ' lopsided. ' ' The absent-minded mathematician 
may lose all interest in the harmony of sound or the balance in color 
combination just because he has failed to develop his world of appre- 
ciation. He becomes an intellectual "freak." In religion a man may 
develop great skill in dogmatic disputes, and fail to appreciate the 
emotional values in the great concepts which he defends with such 
rigid logic. Such a man is a religious "freak." 

The musician or painter may cultivate his emotional nature at the 
expense of his world of knowledge and his world of conduct. We 
excuse him by saying that it is "artistic temperament," but we know 
that he is "lopsided." The emotionally lopsided man in the realm 
of religion is the "Holy Roller," the dancing dervish, the emotional 
religious freak. 

One may also be lopsided in the direction of his will. He may be 
always acting before he thinks or without appreciating the emotional 
values involved in his deeds. In the realm of religion this gives us the 
man who tries to save himself by his good deeds. Such a man often 
says, "I care not what a man believes. I am only interested in what 
he does." All such are "lopsided." 

Living in Three Worlds. The "balanced" man lives in three 
worlds — the world of knowledge, the world of appreciation, and the 
world of conduct. In our schools and colleges there arose a system 
of "majors" and "minors" to protect students from a one-sided develop- 
ment. If students selected their "majors" in the field of the intellect 
they were required to select a minor in the field of the emotions, and 
a second minor in the field of the will. If the major was selected in 
music, art, and literature, a minor must be selected in mathematics, 
science, language, or philosophy and a second minor in such subjects 
as history, biography, sociology, and economics. 

The world has lopsided religions. Some say that religion is dogma 
and they try to save the world by knowledge only. Others say that 
religion is ritual and they prescribe ceremony and form as a means of 
salvation. Still others say that religion is good works and they neglect 
religious knowledge and ceremony. The "balanced" mind needs a 
religion which is knowledge and ritual and deed. 



156 TEACHING THE TEACHER 

The Religion of Whole-Mindedness. Christianity is the religion 
of whole-mindedness. It has knowledge about God for one's intellect; 
love and worship of God for one's emotions; obedience to God for 
one's will. If the mind of man is to be fully satisfied with its religion, 
there must be regular study of God's truth for the intellect; systematic 
worship of God for the emotions; and constant service of God for the 
will. Failing in any one of these activities man's spiritual nature 
tends to starve, or to become partial and incomplete. 

A Triune Man Needs a Triune God. We have seen that man 
is by nature a triune being. He is one; yet he is three. He is a thinker, 
a feeler, and a doer. He comes into being with this threefold nature 
hungering for development. The schools develop the mental capacity 
through science, art, and the humanities. But the complete fulfillment 
of man's being can come only through a religion which provides a 
triune God whom one may know, whom one may love, whom one may 
obey. The triune man is completed, through faith and love and obedi- 
ence, by a triune God. A child begins life with a triune capacity for 
growth; through the Christian religion he may come to have life more 
abundantly. 

Summary 

Man has a threefold mental capacity. His mental balance requires 
the harmonious development of all his powers. Man may become 
mentally one-sided if any one of his mental powers is developed at the 
expense of other powers. There are mental "freaks" in all walks of 
life — religion is no exception to the rule. A "balanced" religious life 
requires discipline of the whole mind. Some of the world's religions 
feed the intellect only; some minister only to the emotions; and some 
provide only a program of good deeds. Christianity provides for the 
entire mental life and may truly be called "the religion of whole- 
mindedness." 

Questions for Review and Discussion 

1. Reproduce the diagram given in the first paragraph of this chapter. 

2. Name and discuss briefly the three worlds in which all people should 

live. 

3. State some ways in which people may become mentally "lopsided." 

4. Recall some lopsided people and try to explain the cause of their 

lack of balance. 



STUDY OF THE MIND 157 

5. Enumerate your own religious practices and try to predict the effect 

of your present religious life on your own religious balance in 
years to come. 

6. Explain why Christianity can claim to be the religion of whole- 

mindedness. 

LESSON IV 
The Intellect 

The Faculties of the Intellect. The intellect is a name for the 
mind's capacity to think. For purposes of analysis the process of 
thinking is broken up into six faculties, as follows : Perception, Memory, 
Imagination, Conception, Judgment, and Reason. This chapter will 
attempt only a brief definition of these six faculties. 

Perception. The telegraph operator sits at his desk and translates 
into messages the dots and dashes that flash from his instrument. 
The dots and dashes are raw material out of which messages are made. 
Just so the mind sits in the citadel of man's brain and translates into 
knowledge the raw material which comes pouring in from a thousand 
nerves. Sensations of sound, color, taste, smell, and touch are recorded 
in a multitude of combinations and with varying degrees of intensity. 
The mind's capacity to interpret these combinations into knowledge 
is called perception. Perception may be defined as the mind's capacity 
to translate sensations into knowledge. A simple message, the 
mind's impression of a single object, is called a percept. 

It is the function of perception to store the mind with knowledge 
in the form of percepts. The richer the experience of the child — 
the wider the travel, the more varied the contact with nature, 
people, music, art, and literature — the greater will be the number 
and variety of percepts which can later be woven into the thought 
life of the adult. 

Memory. Memory is the mind's power to record, to retain, to 
recall, and to recognize previous mental experiences. These four 
powers are sometimes referred to as the four R's of memory. There 
are laws governing each of these powers which the successful teacher 
should know. Laws of attention and emotional preference will 
determine how vividly the record is impressed; laws of association 
and repetition will determine how easily it will be recalled. 

The primary law of memory may be stated in these words: Things 



158 TEACHING THE TEACHER 

held before the mind at the same time will tend to suggest each 
other. In other words, things that are experienced together will tend 
to be recalled together. This is the law of association. There are 
secondary laws of memory which every teacher and student should 
know. If things are frequently held in the mind together they will be 
more apt to suggest each other. This is the law of repetition. If the 
association of objects or ideas is attended by pleasurable emotion they 
will be more apt to be recalled together. This is the law of emotional 
preference. If some logical relationship can be discovered between 
two or more facts or ideas they will be more apt to be recalled together. 

Imagination. Some one has aptly said that "Imagination is the 
mind's power of painting pictures without the present help of the 
senses." Perception stores the mind with raw material in the form 
of percepts. Memory recalls the past impressions to consciousness. 
Imagination picks up these recalled images and weaves them into new 
combinations the like of which no one has ever seen or heard before. 
When imagination works without a plan and images flit before the 
mind promiscuously it is dreaming, but when imagination works with 
a plan it builds its castles in the air with a purpose. It gives the archi- 
tect his plan, the author his plot, the scientist his hypothesis. To 
man's religious life imagination gives the power to see reality in the 
realms of faith rather than in the material world. 

Conception. The mind has the power to digest its experiences. 
Sensations coming in through eyes, ears, nose, and the other senses 
were first interpreted by perception into ideas of individual things, 
called percepts. But the mind has the power of refining percepts. 
The sensations of color, size, form, odor, which entered into the idea 
of the first apple, for example, are subjected to critical analysis. The 
mind discovers that an apple does not need to be red, or sour, or soft. 
After analyzing many apples the mind gets an idea of a class of objects 
which it will call apples. This idea is not a mental picture of any 
one apple; it is a definition of a term which will fit all apples. This 
definition is a concept. It is the mind's idea of a class of objects. The 
concept "apple" will hold many particular apples; the concept "horse" 
is a definition which will include all horses; the concept "boy" will 
include Tom, Dick, Harry, and all other individuals belonging to the 
boy class. 

When the mind can think in terms of concepts it is able to think 
in mental shorthand — one word has become the symbol of many experi- 



STUDY OF THE MIND 159 

ences. A concept, therefore, is the mind's idea of a class of 
objects, and conception is the mind's capacity to think in 
terms of concepts. 

Judgment. Thinking is comparing. Comparing percepts pro- 
duces concepts. Comparing concepts produces judgments. 
Iron and metal are both concepts. When I compare these two con- 
cepts and announce my conclusion, I say, "Iron is a metal." This 
simple declarative sentence is a judgment. 

Reason. Reasoning is a comparison of judgments. 

First judgment: All men are mortal. 

Second judgment: This person is a man. 

Third judgment, resulting from comparing the first and secor i 
judgments: This person is mortal. 

This process is called reasoning. The first judgment is usually 
called the major premise; the second judgment is called the minor 
premise; and the third or resulting judgment is called the conclusion. 
Logic is the name of the science which treats of the laws governing the 
process of reasoning. 

Summary 

There are six faculties of the intellect. The first translates sensa- 
tions into ideas; the second recalls to the mind both the sensation 
and the idea; the third enlarges, modifies, and reconstructs images 
and ideas previously formed; the fourth refines images into definitions; 
the fifth enables the mind to think in terms of definitions; and the 
sixth enables the mind to think in terms of judgments. 

Questions for Review and Discussion 

1. Name the six faculties of the intellect. 

2. Define the terms perception and percept. 

3. Name the four R's of memory. 

4. Repeat the primary law of memory. 

5. Name two secondary laws of memory. 

6. Define imagination. 

7. Tell the difference between a percept and a concept. 

8. Define judgment. 

9. Define reason. 



160 TEACHING THE TEACHER 

LESSON V 
The Emotions 

Emotions Defined. Emotion is a name for the mind's capacity 
to feel. We often use the term feeling when the experience is simple 
and less intense and apply the term emotion when the experience is 
more complex and more intense. The difference between feeling and 
emotion is in intensity, not in quality. Emotion is personal and par- 
ticular. It is my pleasure and my pain, my happiness and my sorrow. 
Emotion is accompanied by physical or bodily behavior, but it is some- 
thing more than physical; it is essentially a mental experience. 

Kinds of Emotion. There are two kinds of emotion: the egoistic 
and the altruistic. The egoistic emotion flows in toward the self 
and makes the self the center of the experience. Like, dislike, rever- 
ence, love, friendship, tenderness, terror, hate, scorn, pride, vanity, 
and shame are among the egoistic emotions. 

The altruistic emotions flow out from oneself toward others. 
Sharing happiness with others is altruistic. Pity is unhappiness through 
shared unhappiness. Malice is happiness through another's unhappi- 
ness. Envy is unhappiness through another's happiness. 

Both kinds of emotions may be social or nonsocial, depending on 
whether or not the objects of the emotions are personal or nonpersonal. 
Among the nonsocial emotions are like and dislike applied to imper- 
sonal objects, aesthetic pleasure, logical pleasure, sense of humor, 
and the like. 

^ The World of Appreciation. Emotion adds personal values to 
objects. The cottage on the hillside may have little intrinsic, com- 
mercial value, but if it is my boyhood home, around which memories 
of childhood cling, it will have an added meaning and value for me which 
is not fictitious, but very real. Emotion is more than an appraiser 
of values; it creates values. These values, created by emotion, give 
us our world of appreciation. 

The Uses of Emotion. Emotion is a potent factor in the control 
of conduct. In the first place, it aids the individual to self-realization, 
fosters personal relationships, and gives a sense of the reality of other 
persons. In the second place, it tends to make one responsive to his 
environment and enables him to get higher personal values out of his 
surroundings. In the third place, it tends to break up habitual mental 
and bodily habits* by its discovery of new values and its insistent 



STUDY OF THE MIND 161 

demand that conduct shall be changed in recognition of these new- 
values. In the fourth place, emotion, by breaking up old associations 
and by discovering new compelling interests, enables the mind to 
reorganize itself around the larger personality which religion furnishes 
and unites the smaller with the larger self. Thus emotion helps to 
unite the life of man with the life of God. 

Expression and Growth. The emotions grow through expression. 
In harmony with the nature of all conscious states emotion tends to 
find expression in conduct. If normal expression in some form does 
not follow an emotional state one of two results is sure to appear sooner 
or later in the life of the individual: either serious nervous and mental 
disease involving "suppressed emotions' ' which derange the whole 
mental life, or the loss of the desire or ability to act on future emotional 
suggestions.^ 

Excessive theater-going or novel-reading may prove very injurious 
to the mental life. Even the constant appeal of great religious inter- 
ests, such as missionary, philanthropic, and social-service challenges, 
with no active response to the emotional demands, may cause one to 
lose the capacity to be aroused by future appeals. The heart is hardened 
by the denial of response, and the mental life has lost a capacity for 
response — an "unpardonable sin" has been committed. "The remedy 
would be," said Professor James, "never to suffer oneself to have an 
emotion without expressing it afterwards in some active way." 

Rules for Control. The quotation from Professor James in the 
preceding paragraph advised that all emotional states should find 
expression "in some active way." This must not be% interpreted 
to mean that all emotional desires should be gratified. There are 
emotional desires which should not be gratified, but something positive 
should be done with them. One of the pressing tasks before religious 
educators to-day is to organize a body of wholesome activities through 
which the emotional responses of youth may find safe and satisfying 
expression. 

Five rules may aid in avoiding the dangers of undirected emotional 
response: 1. The emotional response should be positive. A con- 
scious attempt to do a positive thing is much more effective than an 
effort to inhibit or suppress some undesirable tendency by sheer force 
of will power. The theory of casting out evil by doing good is still 
valid. 2. Pleasurable responses should be encouraged. There 
are pleasurable responses which are not desirable, but they are unde- 



162 TEACHING THE TEACHER 

sirable for other reasons than their pleasurable qualities. Find substi- 
tutes which are equally desirable and which do not have the unwhole- 
some attachments. Happy, hopeful, pleasing, courageous responses 
which challenge the mind's capacity to appreciate the good, the true, 
and the beautiful, are the types of emotional response most worth while. 
3. The altruistic responses should be encouraged. The egoistic 
responses can usually be depended upon to take care of themselves. The 
altruistic responses enable us to share the experiences of others, thus 
enlarging our sympathies and expanding our personalities and increas- 
ing our powers both to give and to get pleasure and service. 4. The 
emotional life should have a balanced development. ♦ Music, art, 
literature, social response, aesthetic contemplation, logical pleasure, 
good humor — all these should have their place in the development 
of an emotional nature which is to serve the highest interests of the 
religious soul. 5. A serious desire to be socially and remedially 
helpful should attend all reference to unwholesome emotional 
situations. Sensational novels and problem plays are often filled with 
the most revolting scenes. They are defended on the ground that 
they express life as it is and that such literature adds to the complete- 
ness of experience. Miss Calkins, in "A First Book in Psychology/' 
aptly quotes the following editorial from the Nation in condemnation 
of current tendencies to revive unpleasant emotions to no good purpose: 
♦ "Their revelations of the hideous conditions of life are not calculated to 
make any person of good will seek out that suffering and relieve it. 
. . . In a time when sensationalism and overemphasis of all kinds 
bid fair to be regarded as the chief literary virtues, these sordid infernos 
go a step farther and deal consciously in the revolting. . . . To view 
a brutal action may be salutary if it prompts one to knock the brute 
down; to penetrate the lowest human depths, bearing aid, is well; to 
classify a new gangrene is well if it evokes a remedy : but to pray about 
a pathological laboratory that one may experience the last qualm of 
disgust and then to exploitjsuch disgust for literary purposes, is to create 
a public nuisance." 

Summary 

Emotion is the mind's capacity to feel. It is personal and particular. 
There are two major groups of emotions, egoistic and altruistic. Emo- 
tions create new values and build our world of appreciation. Emotions 
serve (1) to foster self-realization; (2) to draw personal values out of 



STUDY OF THE MIND 163 

the surroundings; (3) to break up the habitual mental life, and (4) to 
enlarge the personal life and unite it with the life of God. Emotions 
grow by expression and sicken and die when unexpressed. Whole- 
some development should be guided by rules which recognize the laws 
of the mental life. Five such rules are discussed in this chapter. 

Questions for Review and Discussion 

1. Define emotion. 

2. Name the two major groups of emotions and give examples of each. 

3. In what way does emotion add to the facts of experience? 

4. Name and discuss four uses of emotion. 

5. Discuss the paragraph on "Expression and Growth.' ' 

6. Give the five rules for the control of emotions. 



LESSON VI 
The Will 

The Will Denned. Will is a name for the mind's power to act. 
Like emotion, will is personal. It ties persons and things to itself. 
In an act of will the mind conceives itself as having dominion over 
other selves or other objects. The will is the personal self conscious 
of its power over its environment. It moves everything else to suit 
its own purposes. It transforms people and things to its own ends. 
A dominant will gives a city a new charter; pushes a railroad across 
the plains; spans the surging stream with a suspension bridge; over- 
comes a malignant pestilence; develops a new cosmic theory; proposes 
a league of nations; expounds and champions a new religion. In every 
case the mind of man has acted on other minds and has led them to 
conform to a single will. 

Forms of Will. Acts of the will may be involuntary or spontaneous; 
or they may be the result of deliberation and choice. In this latter 
case they are said to be voluntary. In the involuntary acts the will 
does not seem to refer its acts to any time or place. It seems to rest 
content in the exercise of its power over its objects without thought 
as to purpose or results. These acts are basic and more fundamental 
than the more deliberative acts of will. The second form of will, 
the voluntary act, is directed toward some future object or event. 



164 TEACHING THE TEACHER 

If it hesitates in making its choices it is because two or more future 
ends present themselves for consideration, and time is consumed in 
weighing the pros and cons presented by each claimant before the 
final choice is made. 

The Choice of Ends. Voluntary acts are choices of ends. The 
more vivid and definite the end, the more unhesitatingly will the choice 
be made. Three qualities characterize the ends for which will strives. 
1. The end is real. There is no incentive to the will in a fictitious 
object. 2. It is always in the future. 3. It is always thought of as 
dependent on the act of will. A real, future event or person or 
object which the will can affect or influence is necessary to induce 
the will to act. 

The disciplined will fixes its attention on the end to be attained, 
and lets the minor details adjust themselves automatically. The un- 
trained will must give its attention to the details of adjustment until 
they have become involuntary. Smaller adjustments which are essen- 
tial to a larger end tend to become automatic as soon as they are 
willed. 

A young man wills to become a lawyer. He sees before him the 
clear-cut image of himself in future days as a trained attorney-at-law. 
If his will is disciplined, the adjustments necessary to realize the goal 
will be made without conscious effort. If he is not trained he will 
have consciously to will to attend college, to study Latin, to work 
during vacations for the necessary fees, or anything else which may 
be a prerequisite to the practice of law. After once willing to do any 
or all of these things necessary to become a lawyer, they will tend 
to become automatic and finally they will be performed without con- 
scious effort. 

Great men live simple lives. They make their life choices in terms 
of great fundamental purposes. Abraham Lincoln in the White House 
at Washington made his decisions in terms of the simple but funda- 
mental rules that governed his life as a country lawyer in Illinois. 
Great and basic principles as ends in life tend to simplify all of life's 
decisions. Two simple rules should guide in the training of the will: 

1. Select great, fundamental, worth-while ends for your life. 

2. Will to do all the smaller things that are worthy means 
to the larger ends 

Faith and Belief. Will is egoistic. Faith is altruistic. When will 
turns from itself as the center, and sees some other person or object 



STUDY OF THE MIND 165 

as the dominating, controlling force, then will has become lost in 
faith. The dominating will, master of all it surveys, suddenly sees 
in some other person qualities which command respect and obedience. 
From the "captain" of his own soul, a man quickly becomes the loyal 
subject of a loved and trusted leader. One has faith in a person: in 
his father, his teacher, his general, his God. 

Or, the assertive will may see a worthy object in an impersonal 
truth or principle. This attitude of the will toward an impersonal 
object is belief. One believes in tariff legislation, in a league of nations, 
in a theory of the inspiration of the Bible. 

Dominating Altruism. When the dominating, aggressive will 
finds a person or an object to whom it surrenders its power and to 
whom it renders loyal allegiance, it does not lose its forceful, aggressive 
attributes and become a passive, nonresisting state of mind. On the 
contrary, it retains all its militant aggressiveness. But its powers 
are no longer devoted to impressing its own will upon others; it now 
bends all its energies to the promotion of the will of the one to whom 
it has surrendered its own leadership. It now loyally loses itself in the 
life of another, and has a sense of finding a larger life in the act of 
losing a smaller life. 

The Surrendered Life. "I surrender all," sings the Christian. 
But this surrender is but a transfer of myself and my plans as an end 
in life to Christ and his plans for my life. My own aggressive per- 
sonality goes with me to the new life. In conquest I carry the will 
of Christ to the unconquered savage in the heart of Africa; with heroic 
courage I face the corruption in civic life and fasten Christ's will on 
a great city; with militant faith I enter the marts of trade and bid 
Capital and Labor follow the Man of Galilee; with high courage I 
give up my own plans for a selfish life and teach little children to "will 
to do the Father's will." The "surrendered" life is the militant, vic- 
torious life. Paul surrendered and Rome heard the gospel; Living- 
stone surrendered and Africa is turning to Christ; Huss surrendered and 
religious patriotism swept a nation; Luther surrendered and the Protes- 
tant Reformation shook the religious world. The Christian religion 
offers to the wills of men a great faith — a personal Christ as the supreme 
end of life. And this divine Leader announces, "And I, if I be lifted 
up, . . . will draw all men unto myself." Thus the selfish, discordant 
wills of men find themselves united in a harmonious and loyal service 
of the universal will. 



166 TEACHING THE TEACHER 

Summary 

The will is the mind's power to act. It is the personal self dominating 
its environment. It may act without conscious purpose; but it also 
acts in terms of future ends which it thinks are real and which can 
be fashioned by the act of willing. Smaller acts which are means to 
some larger purpose tend to become automatic. When the will ceases 
to be egoistic and loses itself in a larger personal end, it becomes faith; 
when it loses itself in an impersonal end, it becomes belief. The Chris- 
tian religion provides a divine Person for the faith of all men. This 
Person is the Way, the Truth, the Life. 

Questions for Review and Discussion 

1. Define will, faith, belief. 

2. Describe the two kinds of will. 

3. Name three qualities which characterize the ends which the will 

chooses. 

4. Give two simple rules for training the will. 

5. Explain the difference between will and faith. 

6. What is the quality which causes the "surrendered" life to be also 

the militant and victorious life? 

7. What does the Christian religion furnish to the will? 



LESSON VII 
Habit Formation 

Habit Defined. "Habit," said Dr. Emerson E. White, "is that 
which enables us to do easily, readily, and with growing certainty 
that which we do often." Every act leaves in the structure of the 
body and mind a capacity to repeat itself. There is a "set" of the 
mind and a "set" of the tissues of the body which make it easier for 
us to act in certain ways and harder to act in certain other ways. This 
tendency to repeat movements and thoughts is habit. 

Value of Good Habits. Bad habits are our most persistent enemies. 
Good habits are our most helpful friends. Good and useful habits 
free the mind from the necessity of giving attention to many small 
details of conduct and enable it to devote itself to more serious and 
more important matters. One by one the mind hands the smaller 



STUDY OF THE MIND 167 

duties over to the nervous system. At first, walking takes the entire 
attention of the child. Later, the child walks without thinking about 
it. Its nervous system is now able to attend to the whole walking 
process; walking is now a habit. Once we had to use our whole minds 
in order to shake hands with a friend; now we shake hands by means 
of our spinal cords, and our minds are free for more important matters. 
In like manner, we learn to do a multitude of things mechanically, 
habitually, with ease and accuracy, while our minds are struggling 
with problems that cannot be so easily reduced to habit and routine. 
Good habits thus insure economy and efficiency in our daily living. 
Our nervous system, trained to do many needful things for us promptly, 
efficiently, and certainly, comes to be the mind's most useful ally. 

Kinds of Habits. Make a crease in a sheet of writing paper. At 
the line of the crease the fiber in the paper has taken on a new and 
modified form. The paper from now on tends to behave differently 
because of this changed structure of the creased portion of the paper. 
Inert, lifeless paper has a new habit! 

Walk with "stooped' ' shoulders. Soon the living tissues of the 
body will adjust themselves to the "stooped" manner and you will 
be habitually "stoop-shouldered.' ' Living tissues have acquired a 
"set," a habit of behavior. Of all living tissues the most delicate and 
sensitive is the nervous system. The play of color before the eye; 
the whisper of sound in the ear; the gentle touch of pollen from the 
rose in the nostrils; or the fleeting images of a daydream across the 
mind — all leave their indelible traces on the delicately attuned fibers 
of the nervous system. Every passing thought leaves its permanent 
tracing on the structure of the brain. 

There are three ways by which habits are fixed in the nervous tis- i 
sues: 1. By repetition. Every repeated act deepens the impression 
on the nervous system. 2. By pleasurable associations. If acts 
are associated with emotions that are pleasing, they will tend to be 
recalled more frequently and hence be more firmly fixed in conscious- 
ness. 3. By acts of will. If one gives conscious attention to impres- 
sions and by acts of the will recalls and reinstates them for the express 
purpose of making them automatic, the impressions are sure to be 
more deeply and more securely fixed upon the nervous system. 

The Fateful Days of Youth. The delicate nervous system of the 
child is played upon by every wind that blows. The child must form 
habits. He is so made that habits form themselves. Habits of speech, 



168 TEACHING THE TEACHER 

of bodily carriage, of industry, of reading, of study — all are formed, 
for good or ill, in the days of youth. Schools are established and systems 
of training and discipline are created in order that these fateful days of 
youth, when the plastic organism is so keenly responsive, may be cap- 
toed and used for the formation of good, useful, and permanent habits. 

Habits the Schools Should Teach. The democratic state recog- 
nizes that people who are to live happily together in the same com- 
munity must have certain common habits. These habits are or should 
be taught in the common schools. Among them are habits of com- 
munication: reading, writing; habits of cooperation: standing in line 
at a ticket window, carrying garbage to the garbage cans in order that 
the city may be clean, paying taxes, sharing common burdens and 
responsibility; habits of patriotism: saluting the flag, holding public 
office at personal loss to oneself; habits of industry; habits of recreation, 
et cetera. 

Habits the Church Should Teach. There are certain essential 
habits which cannot be taught in the public schools. These habits 
must be taught by the schools of the church. Among them are habits 
of reverence: respect for the Sabbath Day; habits appropriate for God's 
house of worship; respect for God's Holy Book; habitual use of great 
hymns, prayers, Scriptures; habits of brotherly service; habits of 
honesty, truth-telling, personal cleanliness. The church school should 
cooperate with the public school in teaching such essential habits as 
obedience, promptness, helpfulness, and cooperation. Inaccuracy, 
disobedience, tardiness, carelessly prepared lessons, irregularity in attend- 
ance, are bad habits which the church school should strive to correct. 

Rules for Forming New Habits. Professor James formulated 
three rules for establishing new habits: 1. "In the acquisition of a 
new habit, or the leaving off of an old one, we must take care to launch 
ourselves with as strong and decided an initiative as possible." 
This means a vigorous beginning, with every condition arranged to favor 
the new and to discourage the old. A public pledge, a spectacular 
initiation, a new name or badge or costume, have their place in launch- 
ing new habits. Greatly begin. 

2. "Never suffer an exception to occur until the new habit is 
securely rooted in your life. Each lapse is like the letting fall of a ball 
of string which one is carefully winding up; a single slip undoes more 
than a great many turns will wind again. Continuity of training is the 
great means of making the nervous system act infallibly right." "Just 



STUDY OF THE MIND 169 

another cup to taper off on," said an old lady who was trying to break 
the coffee habit. The above rule indicates that "tapering off" is not 
the way to break a habit. .There must be no exceptions. This being 
true, the Church should carefully nurture those who are striving to 
lead a new life. With high purpose they have "joined the Church." 
They have begun to lead a new life, but the old life of habit is still 
in their nervous systems. Their sins have been forgiven by a loving, 
heavenly Father, but their nervous systems have yet to be rebuilt 
so that they can fight a winning battle with the Adversary of their 
souls. Hence the new convert should be set to work at once, in helpful 
environment, and kept so constantly engaged in the new way of living 
that he will not "backslide," that there will be no chance to return 
to the old life until the reorganization of the nervous system in harmony 
with the new faith has rendered this return unlikely. 

3. "Seize the very first possible opportunity to act on every 
resolution you make, and on every emotional prompting you 
may experience in the direction of the habits you aspire to gain. 
It is not in the moment of their forming, but in the moment of their 
producing motor effects, that resolves and aspirations communicate 
the new 'set' to the brain." (James, "Brief Course in Psychology," 
p. 147.) With the mind constantly on the goal to be attained these 
three rules admonish us to (1) greatly begin (2) courageously con- 
tinue, and (3) gloriously achieve, and lo, we have become new; old 
things have passed away and a new, redeemed self has, through God's 
help, come to be. 

Summary 

If we do not form habits they will form themselves. It is the law 
of our being. Good habits give us the constant and efficient help of 
our nervous system in achieving our ideals. Repetition, pleasurable 
associations, and conscious attention aid us in forming good habits. 
There are certain habits which should be taught in the public schools 
and there are certain other habits which should be taught by the 
Church. Three rules have been found helpful in breaking old habits 
and forming new habits. 

Questions for Review and Discussion 

1. Define habit. 

2. State the value of good habits. 



170 TEACHING THE TEACHER 

3. Name three ways to fix good habits in the nervous system. 

4. Discuss the various kinds of habits. 

5. What is the significance of youth for habit formation? 

6. Enumerate habits which the public school should teach. 

7. Enumerate habits which the church school should teach. 

8. Discuss the three rules for breaking old habits and forming new 

habits. 

LESSON VIII 
How to Study 

The Art of Study. The preceding chapter pointed out the impor- 
tance of habit formation to the mental life. There is no more important 
habit than the habit of study. It is by the act of study that the sub- 
ject matter of instruction is acquired and by this same act that valuable 
mental habits are formed. To learn to study efficiently is to acquire 
one of the finest of the fine arts. The importance of acquiring proper 
study habits is being more and more recognized in educational circles. 
Courses in supervised study are being provided in teachers' colleges 
and the literature of the teaching profession is giving careful attention 
to this subject. 

The Conditions of Study. The most carefully formulated rules 
will be ineffectual if the conditions of study are not maintained. The 
body should be well, free from physical discomfiture. There should 
be freedom from fatigue. The blood should circulate freely and normally 
with no emotional obstructions within and no tight lacings or other 
restrictions without. 

Unnecessary noise or disturbance should be removed. The study 
conditions should be pleasant, quiet, restful. One can study on trains, 
in shops, amidst the commotion of social gossip, but not efficiently. 

Incentives to Study. The best student work is secured when the 
learner knows why he is learning this particular subject. The presence 
of an incentive or motive, immediate or remote, aids the student very 
greatly. When the pupil ceases to work for the teacher and begins 
to work for himself in order that he may achieve some worthy end 
through the results of study the efficiency of his work is immeasurably 
increased. It is a part of the task of the skillful teacher to present 
motives for study that will draw out the student's latent powers and 
secure the largest results through student interest and initiative. 



STUDY OF THE MIND 171 

Ten * 'Study Commandments." The psychological principles 
presented in earlier chapters of this book when applied to the mental 
processes involved in study give rise to the following rules: 

1. Maintain the conditions of study. This applies to the student 
and his environment. Good health, fresh air, plenty of exercise, a quiet, 
restful place to study, freedom from eyestrain, proper temperature, 
and the like. The rasping voice of a scolding teacher or a nagging 
parent destroys attention and defeats the study process. 

2. Select a study place. A certain room, a certain desk, a certain 
chair should be selected and used as a permanent study place. Instead 
of trying to study all over the house in all sorts of chairs and sofas, 
one place should be dedicated to study and nothing but study should 
be allowed in that place. Soon its very presence will suggest the study 
processes and the moment the student is seated in this particular 
place it will set the study processes going automatically. 

3. Select a study time. A regular program of study should be made 
and followed. It is even desirable to set aside a particular hour for 
the study of each subject. The mind soon forms the habit of study 
at these particular times. It is not so important that the study time 
be morning, afternoon, or evening as it is that it shall be at regular 
times. In this connection it may be pointed out that there is no better 
discipline for a student than the practice of ordering his daily life in 
harmony with a fixed program of activity, which includes a certain 
hour for rising, another for meals, another for recreation, others for 
study and regular duties of the day, with a final time for retiring. 
The practice of beginning the day with a schedule of things to be 
done and a time devoted to each will make for habits of regularity 
and efficiency. 

4. Study hard while you are at it. To the old adage, "Play while 
you play and work while you work," there should be added, "Study while 
you study." Concentrate from the first minute you begin to study. 
Let nothing interfere with your work. Do not worry or fret because 
you do not seem to learn fast. Keep clear-headed and cool, but just 
see to it that you do nothing else but study. If you must stop, do so 
at a logical break in your subject, and after a few minutes of relaxation 
come back to the work again. Make study a serious business. 

5. Consciously try to remember what you learn. The student 
should say to himself, "I intend to remember this." Unless the learner 
tries to learn he will never learn. The very effort to learn sets a net 



172 TEACHING THE TEACHER 

for ideas on the subject and presently the net is filled with ideas not 
only caught but partially digested. The preacher who selects his text on 
Monday morning will be surprised to find how many ideas have been 
caught by Friday morning when finally he begins to prepare his sermon. 
It is equally true with the student, who is learning any subject. Form 
the learner's attitude of mind and say, "I am learning this subject." 

6. Adopt a systematic method of study. The following are 
suggested steps in the study of any lesson: 

(a) Briefly review the former lesson. 

(b) Make a preliminary survey of the assigned lesson. 

(c) Determine an order in which you will do the things required in 

this lesson. 

(d) Reserve most of your time for the hard points in the lesson. 

(e) Follow this plan until the lesson is learned. 

7. Memorize poems, orations, by "wholes" and not by 
"parts." It is best to read such selections aloud, rapidly instead 
of slowly. The method of "wholes" may seem hard at first, but it 
will prove to be best. 

8. Make study periods long enough, but stop before you are 
fatigued. It is best to study long enough at each time to get the 
advantage of the momentum one gains when once the study process is 
well under way. 

9. Outline the books, chapters, and lectures you hear and 
read and memorize your outlines. The habit of selecting the 
leading topics in a lesson and logically organizing the material around 
a few main headings is a valuable aid to mental acquisition. 

10. Make some practical use of knowledge at the earliest 
possible moment after you learn it. 

Summary 

Study is a fine art which can be learned. Proper incentives and 
proper study conditions are necessary. With these there remains only 
the willingness to follow certain simple "study commandments." 

Questions for Review and Discussion 

1. Discuss the importance of right study habits. 

2. What are some of the conditions of studj- 9 

3. Enumerate some worthy study incentives 

4. Repeat ten "study commandments." 



STUDY OF THE MIND 173 



LESSON IX 

The Growing Mind 

The Child Is Born a Human Being. From the instant of birth 
the baby is "dust of the ground" and "living soul. ,, This wonderful 
combination of body and mind is a human being from the beginning. 
From the first moment the little mind is at work organizing its sense 
perceptions and preparing for the mental conquest of its environment. 
From the moment of birth there are the evidences of that trinity of 
power to know, to feel, and to do. But this "immortal I," which we 
studied in Lesson I, must build up the content of its mental life through 
a long period of infancy. The fly has no period of infancy. From the 
moment of its birth it is prepared to perform all the duties of adult 
fly life, and it will grow to be just as big a fly and just as good a fly 
as either of its parents even though it never sees another fly. There 
are no fly nurseries and there are no fly academies just because there 
are no baby flies. But the human being has a long period of infancy 
during which to build up habits, ideas, and ideals with which to con- 
trol its conduct through its mature life. The educator strives to put 
into the infant those controls, or methods and standards of conduct, 
which he would put into the race. 

Child Study. The fact of infancy drives the educator to the study 
of the child. He knows the nature of consciousness, the structure of 
mind, and the anatomy and physiology of the adult body. He needs to 
know besides all these things the laws of growth. He needs to learn, 
for example, how memory develops in the mind of a baby in addition 
to the nature and laws of memory itself. General psychology, which 
deals with the analysis of the states of consciousness, needs to be supple- 
mented by child psychology (generally called genetic psychology), 
which is concerned with the laws of mental growth. Upon general 
and genetic psychology the teacher builds his pedagogical methods. 

Ten Periods in Human Development. The student of human 
development, while noting the almost imperceptible progress from 
infancy to maturity, finds it convenient to divide human development 
into "periods' ' or "stages" on the basis of the dominant physical and 
mental characteristics of the developing person. The following are 
the age groupings usually followed by the authorities in this field: 

1. The period of early infancy. Ages, up to 3 years. A period of 



174 TEACHING THE TEACHER 

beginnings in physical and mental life. The Cradle Roll period in the 
Sunday school. 

2. The period of later infancy. Ages, 4 and 5 years. A period of 
rapid mental development and usually the period of the kindergarten 
and the Beginners Department of the Sunday school. 

3. The period of early childhood. Ages, 6, 7, and 8 years. A 
period characterized by a rapid development of the imagination and the 
spirit of play and imitation. The Primary grades of the public schools 
and of the Sunday school. 

4. The period of later childhood. Ages, 9, 10, 11 years. The pre- 
adolescent years. A period of rapid mental development and buoyant 
physical vigor. Sometimes known as the drill period. The inter- 
mediate grades in the public schools and the Junior Department of the 
Sunday school. 

5. The period of early adolescence. Ages, 12, 13, and 14 years. 
A period of rapid physical growth. Self -consciousness again asserts 
itself. Mental life vigorous. The period of the junior high school and 
Intermediate Department of the Sunday school. 

6. The period of middle adolescence. Ages, 15, 16, 17 years. 
A period of emotional development. Marked religious activity. The 
period of the senior high school and the Senior Department of the 
Sunday school. 

7. The period of later adolescence. Ages, 18 to 23 years, in- 
clusive. A period of rapid intellectual development. The period of 
logical analysis. This is the period covered by the college training 
and by the Young People's Department of the Sunday school. 

8. The period of early manhood and womanhood. Ages, 25 
to 34 years, inclusive. The period of new social, personal, and indus- 
trial or professional adjustments. 

9. The period of middle age. Ages, 35 to 64 years, inclusive. 
This is the period which carries the load of mature life. Families are 
to be educated, business is to be developed, careers are to be made. 

10. The period of old age. Ages, 65 years to death. This is a 
period of fruitage, of retirement, of wisdom, of devotion to worthy 
causes, depending on the ideals which have guided the earlier years. 

Volumes could be written about each of these ten periods in the 
life of man. The parent and the teacher should be close students of 
the earlier periods especially, but those who are interested in the 
moral and religious life must not be neglectful of the later periods. 



STUDY OF THE MIND 175 

The Graded Church School. The graded public school is built to 
fit the needs of the graded child. Likewise the graded church school 
recognizes the needs of God's growing, developing, graded child. To 
meet the needs of the growing child there must, first of all, be a graded 
curriculum which will recognize the mental capacity of each period 
and provide materia for the religious training required by each period. 
In the second place, there must be a graded organization which will 
group children of the same ages together for special training, and 
make possible the special attention which each group needs. In the 
third place, there should be a graded building and equipment. 
The physical conditions in many churches are not adequate to meet the 
demands of efficient spiritual training of the children and youth of the 
parish. The problem of adapting the graded curriculum to schools 
of varying sizes, with partially trained leadership, is very difficult, 
but gradually the educators of the Church will solve this problem. 

A Trained Leadership. The growing child demands a specially 
trained leadership. Experts, for example, must devote their lives to 
the problems of the religious training of children in early and later 
infancy. Literature must be developed, music prepared, training 
courses for parents prepared, and the whole program organized and 
promoted in such a way that there will be a revival of religious training 
in the home, and parents will be indeed the first religious teachers of 
their children. 

What is true of the period of infancy is true of each of the other ten 
periods listed in this chapter. People must be set apart by the Church 
for this holy service and trained until they can render a significant 
service to the various areas of life to which they dedicate their talents. 

There is a growing recognition of the demand for specialized leader- 
ship for the elementary grades and for the adolescent period, but 
there is not yet a definite recognition of the need for a study of the 
religious needs of adults as they pass through the states of adult experi- 
ence. Men's Brotherhoods, adult departments in the Sunday school, 
and the like, which have been the recent attempts to care for these 
periods, have proceeded upon theories which did not adequately recog- 
nize the psychology of the mature mind and the religious needs of the 
different age groups in our adult life. This chapter pleads for a study 
of genetic psychology as well as for a study of general psychology by 
those who would direct the religious training of the boys and girls and 
the men and women of our churches. 



176 TEACHING THE TEACHER 

Summary 

The child is born a human being. He has a long period of infancy 
for growth and training. Racial progress depends in no small measure 
on the manner in which infancy is trained. Child psychology deals 
with the laws of mental growth. General psychology deals with the 
analysis of mind and its behavior. Both are needed by the educator. 
Ten periods have been designated as epochs or stages through which 
the human being passes from birth to death. The graded school is 
based upon these periods of development. The graded church school 
demands a specially trained leadership which can apply the laws of 
general and genetic psychology to the educational program of the 
Church. 

Questions for Review and Discussion 

1. Discuss the significance of human infancy. 

2. Distinguish between general psychology and genetic psychology. 

3. Name the ten periods of human development and give the age limits 

of each. 

4. Explain how the graded church school is attempting to recognize 

these age groupings. 

5. Name three things necessary to a graded school. 

6. Discuss the need of a specialized leadership for religious schools. 



LESSON X 
Workers with Immortal Souls 

A Trade or a Profession. Four elements enter into a trade or a 
profession, namely: human needs, special knowledge, special tools, 
and craftsmanship or professional skill. The shoemaker can have 
a trade so long as people wear shoes. To satisfy this need for shoes the 
shoemaker must have special knowledge about shoes, leather, lasts. 
He must also have special tools designed to aid in the work of making 
or mending shoes. Beyond this he must have skill in using the special 
tools and applying the special knowledge. If his motive in mending 
shoes is merely to make money for himself and he has no interest in 
developing his trade, he will have only a trade and he himself will be 
a mere artisan. But if he sees in his calling a worth-while method of 
serving his fellow men, and if besides mending shoes he develops new 



STUDY OF THE MIND 177 

knowledge, perfects new tools, and acquires new skill for the good of his 
calling, he has become a craftsman — he has more than a trade; he has 
a profession. 

A Classification of Occupations. If we were to classify the 
occupations of men on the basis of the character, quality, and intrinsic 
value of the raw material with which they work, we would have six 
groups or levels of workers. At the bottom of the list would be the 
artisans who work with brick and mortar, wood and stone, cloth and 
leather — workers with inanimate matter. Above the artisans would 
be the engineers and machinists who work with steam and electricity 
— with the mysterious forces of nature. This group satisfies human 
needs by the use of more refined knowledge, more complicated tools, and 
a higher type of skill than the group below. Next above the engineers 
are a group of horticulturists who work with vegetable life. They 
must master the secrets of life forces and cooperate with the laws of 
nature or their work will not succeed. Above the workers in vegetable 
life is the level of animal husbandry in which the raw material is 
animal life. These workers must master more complicated material 
than vegetable life. They must deal with more refined instruments of 
control. Above the level of animal life are the teachers, the educators 
who deal with human consciousness, who must master the laws which 
govern man's power to think and feel and do. And still above the 
teacher, at the very pinnacle of the vocational pyramid, are the reli- 
gious teachers and preachers who deal with the relation of the 
mind of man with the mind of God. 

All these groups are worthy callings. All satisfy human needs; 
all must have special knowledge; all must have special tools; and all 
must have a high degree of skill; but the first four deal with forces and 
substances that are finite and temporary and material, while the last 
two work with the immortal souls of men. 

Sources of Knowledge of Mind. The teacher or religious worker 
who finds himself or herself custodian of the immortal souls of children 
or adults may wish guidance into the literature of this subject. These 
brief chapters have attempted only to introduce the reader to the field, 
to create a desire for future study and to create a sense of the dignity 
and majesty and sanctity of that "immortal I" which thinks and 
feels and wills. 

The following books are recommended for future study: 

Betts, George H., "The Mind and Its Education." Valuable for its 



178 TEACHING THE TEACHER 

simple treatment and its discussion of the physiological background 
of the mental life. 

James, William, "A Briefer Course in Psychology." A classic which 
should be owned by every teacher. 

Calkins, Mary W., "A First Book in Psychology." More technical 
than the preceding books. Contains most excellent chapters on Relig- 
ious Consciousness. 

Tracy, Frederick, "The Psychology of Childhood" and "The Psy- 
chology of Adolescence." Two valuable books on genetic psychology. 

Whipple, Guy M., "How to Study Effectively." A little manual 
which should be owned by every teacher and by every high-school 
and college student. 

Kitson, Harry D., "How to Use Your Mind." A more comprehensive 
treatment of how to study than Whipple's manual. 

Religious Education as a Profession. There is no need to offer 
proof that religious education seeks to satisfy a fundamental need. 
There is rapidly being assembled, to satisfy this need, a body of special- 
ized knowledge dealing with the religious training of children and 
adults. Gradually there is being developed a body of technical instru- 
ments, score cards, tests, and the like, which are the tools of this profes- 
sion, and men and women are now in demand who can use these tools 
and apply this knowledge to the minds of children and youth. Yes, 
religious education is rapidly becoming one of the most important of 
the learned professions. 

Builders of Ideals. Under the second heading in this chapter we 
classified the occupations of men on the basis of the kinds of raw material 
used. We pointed out that the two groups at the top work with the 
immortal souls of men. It now remains to call attention to the fact 
that teachers and religious workers furnish the ideas and ideals which 
all the other groups use. It is ideas and ideals that hold society to- 
gether. Without them there could be no civilization and there would 
be no demand for other types of workers. It is teachers and religious 
leaders who weave ideas and ideals into the fabric of human experi- 
ence and thus preserve our social institutions. The missionaries who 
have woven the ideals and ideas of the Holy Bible into the nations 
of the earth have laid the groundwork for a brotherhood of men. 

In this age of materialism, in the aftermath of a great World War, 
young men and women are flocking into the four lower groups of occu- 
pations and there is great danger that there will not be enough workers 



STUDY OF THE MIND 179 

in the upper groups to weave the warp of ideas and ideals which will 
hold civilization together. Many a time in the history of the world 
the warp has not held, civilization has collapsed, a period of dark ages 
ensued, and the mind of man has been compelled slowly to struggle 
up again through long centuries. Is history to repeat this catastrophe? 
It all depends upon the supply of ideas and ideals. Just now a clarion 
call is going out to the youth of the world to dedicate themselves to 
the upper levels of ideas and ideals. Upon the response to this call 
depends the civilization of the world. This whole book is a ringing 
challenge to you, reader, to dedicate your life to the higher levels and 
become a worker with the souls of men. 

Summary 

Every calling or profession seeks to satisfy the needs of men. Some 
occupations deal with material and temporal needs; other occupations 
deal with mental and spiritual needs of men. Civilization depends on 
the preservation of ideas and ideals; and these depend on a generous 
supply of men and women in each generation who dedicate their lives 
to the service of the higher needs of men. The present crisis in the 
world's history has produced a shortage of spiritual leaders, and civiliza- 
tion is now in danger of a complete collapse. The only hope for the 
present civilization is an army of volunteers for the service of ideas 
and ideals. 

Questions for Review and Discussion 

1. Name four elements which enter into a trade or profession. 

2. Classify occupations on the basis of the raw materials used. 

3. Name a half dozen books which will tell you more about the mind 

of man. 

4. Show that religious education possesses all the elements of a pro- 

fession. 

5. Discuss the place of ideas and ideals in society. 

6. Discuss the present need for religious teachers, preachers, mis- 

sionaries, and social workers. 



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